The key to a good portrait is when a photographer establishes a strong relationship with the subject. Add perfect light to that mix, and a good portrait can turn into a great portrait.

This dynamic four-day workshop is for those who want to make better portraits without a lot of extensive equipment. Bobbi starts with the three main elements of lighting: direction, quality, and depth. We explore the intricacies of lighting patterns and how they define the face, how to appropriately choose the quality through the use of light modifiers and how to combine both of these with lighting ratios to set the mood.

After establishing a firm foundation in the fundamentals of lighting (from aesthetics to hardware), assignments on campus and around Santa Fe with a variety of subjects encourage us to practice and to take advantage of the amazing light of New Mexico. With natural light, we find the source and modify and manipulate it with the use of reflectors and diffusers. We work with window light, backlight, open shade and garage door lighting, exploring how the qualities of each contribute to the feeling of the portrait. The use of portable flash, how they work and the step-by-step set-up is fully explained and demonstrated. You learn through doing, with hands-on experience every day working with the lights, various modifiers, and models. Exposure techniques, histograms, and balancing light are all covered in detail.

The photographer's challenge in creating a portrait of a person is many layered and complicated, and this workshop is designed to provide you with the essential lighting techniques, both artificial and natural, to meet this challenge.

COLLEGE CREDIT AVAILABLE (Course Level 300): For an additional fee, participants may elect to receive one hour of college credit through Hastings College upon successful completion of this workshop. Those interested in earning credit should inquire with Santa Fe Photographic Workshops at the time of registration, 505-983-1400, Ext. 11.